Power tools are a household item, and are often used on a daily basis. Manufacturers of power tools are challenged with providing power tools that have diverse functionality and are easily operable. Many power tools, such as screw drivers and winches, require shifting gears manually to increase speed or power. This requires these items to be directly accessible to the user at all times, so that the user can apply manual force to change modes. This decreases the versatility of power tools and makes them harder to operate remote from the user. The ability to shift gears and change modes automatically is needed.
United States patent publication number 2008/7314097, to Cheryl Jenner, et al., teaches a drill with a mode-changeover mechanism. The mode-changeover mechanism changes the speed and mode of the drill by locking and unlocking planetary gear systems. The present disclosure differs from this prior art disclosure in that the prior art disclosure uses manual force and springs to slide the ring gear, and lock or unlock the planetary gear systems. This prior art disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.
United States patent publication number 2010/7703751, to Ronald L. Elliott, et al., teaches a winch assembly including a clutch mechanism. The winch is rotated by a gear assembly consisting of a ring gear and planetary gear system, and changes speed as the planetary gear system locks or unlocks. The present disclosure differs from this prior art disclosure in that the prior art disclosure is a single-stage gear system, requires the gear shift to be completed manually, and has a stationary ring gear. This prior art disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.
United States patent publication number 2008/0078980, to Richard E. Aho, et al., teaches a high-torque multi-speed winch. The adjustable speed winch uses a first gear reduction to change speeds. When the first gear reduction is engaged, the winch is rotated at a second speed. The present disclosure differs from this prior art disclosure in that the prior art disclosure is a single-stage gear system, requires the gear shift to be completed manually, and couples the gear system to the drum. This prior art disclosure is pertinent and may benefit from the devices disclosed herein and is hereby incorporated for reference in its entirety for all that it teaches.